This bureaucratic space experience is brought to you by Fox & Ox Creations, the creators of Cards & Quests RPG published by Skirmisher Publishing in 2015. Bureaunauts is a 45-60 minute medium weight game for 2 to 6 players that has simultaneous action selection and a unique end game mechanic that keeps it competitive until the last moment.

Kickstarter Discount: Games are 18% off of MSRP and include free shipping to US destinations, giving US backers essentially a 30% discount.

Open Communication: We love to hear from our backers and will respond quickly to any of your questions, comments, or concerns.

Streamlined Project: We’ve done a lot of leg work pre-Kickstarter to reduce the lead time for manufacturing and delivery to your doorstep.

Kickstarter Exclusives: Pledge now to unlock the exclusive stretch goals only available for backers of this project.

In Bureaunauts, players begin as interns and work their way up through the corporate ladder by completing Career Goals. Players complete career goals by exploring the newest section of space available for exploration. In their travels, players will encounter Space Pirates, Ancient Relics, Space Jellies, Lost Civilizations, Business Lunches, Meetings and, of course, lots of Paperwork.

Completion of Career Goals will influence one of five different Department Heads. When one player completes their final Career Goal, a vote is triggered. The player with the majority votes wins the title of Galactic CEO!

Players decide their actions and reveal at the same time using their corporate issued Space Phone.

Engaging and fast-paced mechanics allow for games to reliably finish in less than an hour regardless of whether it is a 2 player or 6 player game.

When one player completes his or her fifth and final Career Goal, a Vote is triggered. The Vote to determine CEO is based on one card randomly selected for each Department Head. This allows players who have had bad luck with space exploration to still be engaged in the endgame, even if probabilities are not in their favor. If no hard majority exists, votes are redrawn escalating the tension of each subsequent card shown.

Cards randomize the playing experience and create a new board-playing experience every game yielding a high replay value.

» I enjoyed playing a space board game with a non typical win mechanic. It felt enjoyable for the casual or the tactician! There was definitely replayability and a predictable, consistent play through time. The basic rules are fun but definitely lots of room for house rules! Happy hunting squids and climbing the galactic corporate ladder! «

» I first played Bureaunauts at a demo day at my local game shop in Houston about a month ago, and I have been thinking about this game at least two to three times a week since. I honestly cannot wait until this game is available to purchase/fund. The game mechanics meld so seamlessly, it is a casual board gamer's paradise. «

—StorminMormonV2, user on BoardGameGeek

» I got to play this at OwlCon 2016. I can't wait for it to release. The girlfriend and I both enjoyed the game. It combines resource management with space travel. I found myself wrapped up in the pursuit of the almighty photon. It took a few rounds to understand the management of your photons, but the anticipation of flipping an unexplored part of the galaxy left us both wanting to play more. «

—galactica2001, user on BoardGameGeek

» At OwCon in Houston Texas, I was invited to play a demo of Bureaunauts. The game looked very intriguing so I agreed. What followed was a great presentation from one of the designers, Todd. It was hilarious. The art had a very retro 8-bit feel which trigger my nostalgia. I was hooked before turn 1. By turn 3 we got the hang of the game basics [...] «

—Hamenopi, user on BoardGameGeek

At every new stretch goal level, a new Kickstarter Exclusive will be unlocked.

Rewards pictured below.

More information on the pledge levels available that involve shipping:

ASSISTANT MANAGER: Assistant managers will receive one copy of Bureaunauts including all unlocked stretch goals. At this level, you can start adding on t-shirts and extra games by following the add-on instructions below.

MANAGER: Managers will receive custom MDF organizers and one copy of Bureaunauts. These laser cut MDF organizers are custom designed to fit in the Bureaunauts game box. The original game box includes a white cardboard insert that should be taken out and replaced with these beauties. We are shipping these individually from Houston, TX, which will cause shipping to increase for this pledge level to destinations outside of the USA. The MDF organizers will ship in a flat padded envelop and require assembly before use.

STRATEGIST: Strategists receive natural birch organizers and one copy of Bureaunauts. We are shipping these individually from Houston, TX, which will cause shipping to increase for this pledge level to destinations outside of the USA. The laser cut birch organizers will ship in a flat padded envelop and require assembly before use.

DIRECTOR: Directors receive the shiniest of shiny acrylic organizers and one copy of Bureaunauts. These acrylic inserts will be shipping from Houston, TX packed with the utmost care, and adds more cost for shipping outside of the USA. The laser cut acrylic organizers will ship in a flat padded envelop and require assembly before use.

GALACTIC CEO: As well as receiving the sleek black acrylic inserts, Galactic CEOs will get their very own space helmet signed by the designers of the game. We can inscribe anything you like inside the helmet, or if you don’t want our signatures mucking up your awesome helmet, we got you, and will send one without our crappy penmanship inside. Let us know in your order if you would like a special dedication. The helmet and acrylic inserts will be headed to you from Houston, TX and that is why shipping increases for this pledge level to destinations outside of the USA. Wearing this space helmet is the best way to play this game and if you are still reading this, good job—the corporation thanks you!

T-shirts and extra games can be added to the following pledge levels:

Assistant Manager

Manager

Strategist

Director

Galactic CEO

To add on T-shirts or extra games, add the corresponding amount in USD to your pledge level. We will ask in your survey at the end of the campaign how many games or t-shirts you want to add and which design(s) you want to order.

Also, if you are adding on a t-shirt and decide you want another, just add $25 even if you don't like in the US. Any extra t-shirts are just $25.

Example: You live in Canada and choose the Assistant Manager pledge level. You want to add an extra game and a Jelly T-shirt. Your total pledge amount should be $50 ($45 pledge & $5 shipping) + $28 + $45 = $123.

We are setting up an international supply chain to ship the game box. This shipping method will reduce cost and enable us to ship to US, Canada, EU and Australia destinations reliably.

All the pledge levels sent to the USA will have free shipping. Please see below for the shipping structure of the pledge levels.

We want to support our Friendly Local Game Store and appreciate all that local games stores do for the community. If you are a retailer, we want to offer you the exclusive Kickstarter version of Bureaunauts with all stretch goals at distributor pricing. Please contact Allison at info@foxandoxcreations.com for pricing details.

Allison Markello – Game Design and Rulebook Layout

Allison Markello co-founded Fox & Ox Creations LLC with her husband Todd Markello in 2015 after she quit her marketing job in the oil and gas sector to pursue a career in game design full-time. The company's first game, Cards & Quests RPG, was published by Skirmisher Publishing. She lives in Houston, Texas with Todd and their son Reed. She is an adventurous eater, world travelling shellback, Excel sorceress, and game designer.

Todd Markello – Game Design

Todd Markello went back to his engineering consultant career after living, travelling, and teaching in China with Allison. Todd is the idea seeder of the Fox & Ox team. After many hours spent on boats, planes, and trains, with Allison dreaming of creating a gaming company, they are finally to the point where they have a second game to publish. In his spare time, Todd plays guitar while Reed strums along and eats many Eggo waffles—AKA brain food.

Brian Heasley – Graphic Design and Game Design

Brian Heasley co-created Bureaunauts with college friend Todd and Todd’s wife Allison. While he is an electrical engineer by day, Brian’s passions lie in the arts. He created all of the artwork for the Bureaunauts game, coupling his love of art with his life-long love of sci-fi. Brian lives in Houston, Texas with his fiancée Marjorie, their standard poodle, Tuesday Karaoke, and two cats, Alice, and Mr. Piddlesworth. He enjoys computer and board game sessions, travel, and local beer.

Marjorie Smith – Brand Manager

Marjorie Smith has served as Brand Manager for Bureaunauts, but would also accept the titles of Play Tester, Cheerleader, and Mediator. Driven by an inherited love of tabletop gaming, she did her best to propel the Bureaunauts team to success. In her spare time, when she isn’t herding cats, drinking beer with Brian, or going on long walks with Tuesday Karaoke, Marjorie can be found studying for her CPA.

We’ve done our best to get the game this far and have selected WinGo Games as our manufacturer. We have received the quotes, asked many questions, read as much as we can, and done the maths to the best of our ability.

The pie chart below shows how your pledge dollars will be spent. We have already put down 40% of the cost for producing the game, so the cost analysis you see here does not include that.

We have included the shipping cost from our manufacturer in China to the fulfillment centers we have chosen. Most of the shipping costs (free shipping in the case of US destinations) from the fulfillment centers to the final destination is absorbed in the reward tier you choose. We applied shipping in this way to get the lowest possible shipping costs to you, the backer. The rest of the money is going to various fees and promotion of the game once it is released.

If you want to follow our updates on social media, see below for links to our Facebook, Twitter, and Board Game Geek (BGG) profiles.

Risks and challenges

Our first game, Cards and Quests RPG (C&Q) enabled us to form Fox and Ox Creations LLC. We created a Roleplaying Game first because we thought it would be more manageable than creating a board game. After C&Q was published, we were able to use many of the skills we developed to create this board game.

Looking back, it is hard to say which type of game is easier to create than the other. Both are amazing journeys with results we are proud to put our names on. We are now at the final stretch to get the game at your doorstep. We are working diligently to get a high-quality production of Bureaunauts shipped to you at a cost-effective price and a reasonable time.

With every phase of production, there are different challenges. We have organized the phases we are planning and explain the challenges with each phase below.

KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVES

If all goes smashingly well during the Bureaunauts Kickstarter campaign, we will have extra cards for the Kickstarter Exclusive version.
The art for these cards is still on the drawing table.

Developing the art for these cards is in our production timeline, but there is always the risk that they may be delayed. Our artist, Brian, may get sick or other unexpected events may happen and finishing the art could be a hold up on the project.

We have many people available for playtesting these additional cards and see the risk as very limited on that front. The playtesting of these new cards will happen quickly and we will ensure game balance with these new space cards.

GAME PRODUCTION

We have printed over 8 copies of Bureaunauts and are in daily communication with our chosen manufacturer WinGo Games. The pictures you see of the game above are of the sample we ordered from WinGo Games. All of our digital files (except for the Kickstarter Stretch Goals) have been sent to the manufacturer and are approved for printing.

MANUFACTURING

We have already received many quotes for producing Bureaunauts and selected WinGo Games as our manufacturer. Though they are far away from the US, their dedicated staff are easy to reach and have abundant experience with Kickstarter projects.

WinGo Games experience with Kickstarter tabletop game projects is extensive as they have successfully manufactured over 100 crowdfunded games in 2015. Bureaunauts is a light to medium game with components WinGo is familiar with. We do not anticipate any hurdles or delays on their end as they have already produced our game and we are not printing in huge quantities. WinGo has the ability to deliver on price, time, and with the highest quality.

SHIPPING AND DELIVERY

Shipping is always a challenge both with shipping in bulk to a fulfillment center and then the next part of the trip to your doorstep. We included free shipping in the Kickstarter pledge level for USA destinations, low cost shipping for Canada and EU destinations, and calculated the extra shipping fare needed for destinations outside of USA, Canada, and the EU. The project timelines for shipping take a deliberate, yet pessimistic view of the shipping deadlines—there is a lot of days added to cushion the goals we’ve set.

Possible risks to our shipping timelines include 1) delayed importation of the games to the fulfillment centers and 2) when the games are on their way to you from the fulfillment centers, depending on how it shakes out, the dates may fall close to December holidays.

REFUNDS

You will be able to receive a full refund of your pledge up to 60 days after the end of the Kickstarter campaign. After that period, we will not be able to receive a refund from the Kickstarter Fees and will take that out of your refund.

We are from the USA and the project is funded in USD. Any refunds given will be in USD for the amount we received in USD, subtracting fees as stated above if it occurs after 60 days.

We will not be able to give you a refund after we have made the order to start manufacturing.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

With your pledge to this Kickstarter, you are accepting that the final rendition of the game, material components, and content of the rewards are subject to change from what is displayed while the Kickstarter project is active.

You approve that we are responsible to ship your order as entered into our pledge surveys, that once the order is handed over to a common carrier the title and risk passes to you, and that you are responsible for import duties or other duties not cover in the pledge that may be payable to the applicable tax authorities. As a backer, you are responsible for providing correct shipping address information and certifying the address is deliverable by standard means. Unfortunately, this Kickstarter project cannot ship to PO boxes.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $5 or more
About $5

Bureaunaut

Print & Play (PnP) digital version of the game that includes all printed content including boards. Start your climb up the galactic corporate ladder with the printable digital version of the game!

Note: No physical components are included. For the black wooden cubes, you can buy them or borrow some from another game. You must use paper fasteners (or some other means) to construct the Space Phones.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $70 or more
About $70

Manager

1 Copy of Bureaunauts and laser cut custom MDF organizers with all Stretch Goals! You can add extra copies of the game for $45 each. You can add t-shirts for $25 each plus shipping, 4 designs available.

Free Shipping to the USA. No extra taxes to destinations in the EU, Canada, and Australia.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $135 or more
About $135

Director

1 Copy of Bureaunauts and laser cut custom acrylic inserts with all Stretch Goals! You can add extra copies of the game for $45 each. You can add t-shirts for $25 each plus shipping, 4 designs available.

Free Shipping to the USA. No extra taxes to destinations in the EU, Canada, and Australia.